Take Flight
by BlackRose108
Summary: Right before the final battle with the Queen Dragon, Hiccup, Astrid, and the other Vikings prepare emotionally for the task at hand. Hiccup/Astrid, slight onesided Hiccup/Ruffnut


**Alas, another Fanfic where I mess with scenes from the movie. **

**This time it takes place right before all the kids leave to help the other Vikings at the dragons nest. I noticed that Astrid and Hiccup were riding on a Nadder together, which I thought was cute that she chose to ride with him. **

**But, this will be focusing on their trip to the Dragon's nest before the final battle and how they prepare for it emotionally and whatnot. And since this is so meshed with the movie excuse the fact that it might not really seem finished at the ending, but I tried to just tie up some lose ends that the movie introduced, but didn't exactly get to in the end. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Take Flight

"You're going to need something to hang on," Hiccup told the other Viking teens after he had made it clear that the dragons wouldn't bite their heads off.

Hiccup had a lot to take it, at the moment.

He had to somehow train these guys to fly on a dragon over the water for hours to the Dragons nest. Plus, he had to get used to the weirdness of them actually listening to him. Snotlout and Tuffnut had impressed him the most. They seemed to be like his sidekicks if that was even possible. They would ask him for tips on how to control their dragons, and would make sure Ruffnut, Astrid, and Fishlegs knew that they were behind him one-hundred and five percent.

Hiccup just tried to brush it off and made sure everyone was taken care of.

"Hiccup, are you sure this is going to work?" Ruffnut asked, quietly when everyone else was preoccupied.

"Not entirely, but it's worth a shot." He told her.

"I still think you're crazy," She told him before smiling in a particular manner that was very non-Ruffnut and going back to the Zippleback she was going to share with Tuffnut. Hiccup just blushed slightly.

In just a few weeks he went from being the skinny runt that everyone laughed at to what he was now. Someone the people came to for advice, someone who was about to charge into a deadly dragon's nest and try to save the people that had turned their back on him, and someone who currently had two girls who seemed to like him when he was positive he was the embodiment of girl repellent.

He looked over at Ruffnut; he certainly would've _never_ guessed that she liked him. But the shy glances she made towards him when she thought he wasn't looking made it very clear that she did, in fact, like him. He gulped and turned his head to Astrid.

He smiled.

She was helping Fishlegs get onto his Gronckle and telling him certain things that she had picked up from being around Hiccup and Toothless. And then she walked over to him in the split second he had turned his head.

"I think everyone's ready." Astrid reported to Hiccup.

"Good," We should get going in a few minutes. Hiccup looked around, seeing Ruffnut and Tuffnut on the Zippleback, Fishlegs on the Gronckle, and Snotlout on the Nightmare. Hiccup decided since everyone else had seemed to pick their own dragons, and Toothless was on the Viking's ship near the nest that he would ride the Nadder over to their destination until he could get to Toothless. The Nadder seemed to recognize him and immediately took a liking to him when he scratched the dragon's neck again for good measure.

But then Hiccup realized there were four dragons and six of them. Which meant that someone would have to ride with someone else other than Tuffnut and Ruffnut. He looked over at Astrid, who seemed to be the odd one out. But she didn't seem as worried as he thought she would be.

And, in truth, Astrid wasn't. She knew from the start that she would be riding with Hiccup. She had actually wanted it that way. But she'd never admit that.

"Um, you wanna ride with me since there's-"

"Yes," Astrid answered Hiccup's question all too quickly for her liking. Astrid made her way over to the Nadder, petting its nose and trying not seem as scared as she was. She had ridden on Toothless before, but this was a new dragon and it seemed like she was terrified all over again.

"Once we find Toothless, you'll have to ride alone." Hiccup mentioned. "Are you going to be alright, riding by yourself?" Astrid met Hiccup's eyes apprehensively. Hiccup knew better than to call out on Astrid's fears, so he just waited for her answer patiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I mean, it's not like I've never been on a dragon before." She tried to laugh it off. Hiccup gave her a good hearted smile.

"Just remember that all dragons are different." He told her before climbing on the Nadder first then extending his hand towards Astrid to help her up. To his surprise, she took his hand this time and allowed him to pull her up onto the Nadder's back. He remembered the last time he had done that, she had just smacked his hand away. But he supposed things were different now.

He supposed they were friends now.

"Alright everyone, get ready to take off." Hiccup said, getting everyone's attention.

"Um, how long is this going to take, exactly?" Snotlout asked. "And how do we even know where this place is?"

"Well, only dragons know the way entirely."

"So, then, we're covered?"

"As far as I know, just follow my lead and we'll get there eventually." Hiccup tried to sound confident, but in truth he was just going off instincts. Which he usually had good instincts, but he was worried was time. The ships had left during the morning and it was currently well into the afternoon. He only hoped that Toothless and the other Vikings weren't already in a battle with the Queen Dragon already.

He feared that they'd get there too late and the only thing they'd be able to do is dig a giant burial.

He gulped.

"Don't worry," Astrid told him calmly, picking up on his worry, and she wrapped her arms around his stomach rather tightly. Her small gesture alone made him feel slightly better and without any further preamble, the six Vikings were off.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The dragon's nest was actually a pretty big place, and despite the fact that it didn't seem to be such a long flight when it was just himself, Toothless, and Astrid, Hiccup realized that they had to go in a different entrance then the one he had gone in before. The ships, of course, had taken the longer route since there was only one water way that led to the nest. And that would take them a good couple of hours to reach there.

About an hour into flying, everyone was already getting pretty spent. All they wanted to do was sleep or eat or just lay back, but they had to stay upright and forget the quivering in the stomachs while they were flying.

"You alright?" Hiccup asked Astrid. No one was really saying much while they were flying, but he still wanted to make sure she hadn't nodded off. Because falling asleep hundreds of feet in the air wasn't the wisest or safest thing.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Astrid answered. She had her arms around him a little more loosely than she had when they had started flying, and by then her head was using his back as some sort of pillow. As soon as she heard his voice, though, her grip tightened and her head shot up, resting on his shoulder instead. "How about you, I know you're not used to riding on another dragon?"

"Yeah," Hiccup answered, and petted the Nadder on the side of its neck in an affectionate manner. The Nadder just perked up and flew a little straighter, just to show that it hadn't fallen asleep either. Flying so long, it was easy to forget that it was just as hard for the dragons as it was for the person riding on them, if not harder all together. "But after being with Toothless so much, I think I get dragons a little better now."

Astrid smiled against his shoulder and held him a little tighter. Hiccup just placed one hand over hands, which were comfortably around his torso. It was a bold move for Hiccup, but he felt that he now had the guts, and also that Astrid would actually let him get away with it. All she did was suck her breath in and let her fingers relax when Hiccup squeezed them.

"Thank you Astrid," Hiccup breathed, suddenly.

"For what?" Astrid asked, feeling that she should've been the one thanking him.

"For going along with all this craziness when you could've just ratted me out two days ago."

"You're welcome," Astrid replied happily. "And thank you, too."

"For what?" Hiccup asked, as well.

"For showing me all of this." She just lifted her head and glanced around at the clouds they were flying over. Even in the most serious of situations, they were still experiencing beauty. Hiccup turned his head best he could towards her and smiled. She returned the grin and leaned her forehead so it was just barely touching his, closing her eyes.

Over on the other dragons, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut were observing the scene before them with surprise and disbelief. Astrid had never shown any particular interest in anyone, much to Snotlout's dismay, so it was especially odd to see her taking such a…liking to Hiccup, whom she always deemed was irresponsible. All four of them just watched the pair ride on the Nadder and stay nuzzled underneath each other, probably not even realizing that they were being so intimate. But what really made the Vikings uneasy was that it was hardly the time or the place to be having such moments.

"Hey," Ruffnut called out across Tuffnut to Astrid and Hiccup. Their heads snapped up and they looked over at Ruffnut with surprised faces. "Love Birds number one and two." Ruffnut named them bitterly. "We're about to fly into a battle, do you really think it's the right time to be all cute and cuddly?"

"We're not being cute and cuddly." Astrid yelled back.

"Beg to differ," Ruffnut continued yelling. "I'm about to barf over here."

"Well then, don't look." Astrid smirked, leaning her head back on Hiccup's back and continued to leer at the other Viking girl.

"Ah ha, so you admit it!" Ruffnut pointed a finger at her, her arm going right past Tuffnut's nose on the other Zippleback head.

"Come on guys, you can fight over Hiccup after we've defeated this big Queen Dragon thing and we're back on solid ground." Snotlout stepped in when he saw Hiccup was too shocked at the fact that two girls were fighting over him to say anything.

"We're not fighting over Hiccup!" Both of the girls yelled simultaneously, and then glowered at each other angrily, again.

0o0o0o0o0o0

It was all pretty quiet after Ruffnut and Astrid's fight, though the tension between the two girls made the air pretty thick once they started getting into mistier territory. Though Hiccup knew that the mistier it got, the closer they were getting. Astrid knew this, as well.

In the silence, though, Astrid had some time to thinking over things. She had taken her place back against Hiccup's back and simply rested her head there softly. A few times she asked him if he wanted her to take over the reins for a little while, but he flatly refused, telling her to just enjoy the ride.

This just made Astrid smile and lean into him more. And she was glad that the fog was getting heavier so that Ruffnut couldn't see what was going on, since she had made it her mission after their fight to fly as closely as she could to the Nadder and see everything that was or wasn't going on. Tuffnut just slapped a hand on his forehead every time Ruffnut glared over to Hiccup and Astrid, but then he felt sorry for his sister, mainly because she'd always turn her head away shortly after, looking a little saddened.

Astrid realized that she was indeed, falling for Hiccup. It wasn't something she wanted to deny on the inside, but she wasn't sure she wanted him to know that she was harboring confusing and very obvious feelings just yet. Everything in the realm of liking someone was new to her. Astrid wasn't exactly the most affectionate person, and she knew that she had even made it her goal to be that way. But, things were different now, and the only reason they were different was because of this on boy she was hanging on to.

Since she had flown on Toothless with him two nights ago, Astrid realized that she had wanted nothing more than to feel that peace again. The peace and calmness of flying over the clouds on a beautiful night with him. To lean against him and feel the warmth that she never would've guessed he emitted and just bury her face into the back of his riding vest and never move from that spot. The more she thought of it the more Astrid knew she would never _ever_ say any of that out loud, but just the thoughts made her wish that they weren't nearing their destination. She brought one of her hands up to his chest and scooted up so her whole top half was against his back. He jolted up at the contact.

"We're almost there." He told her and she nodded, placing her other hand on his side and her head in his winding hair, inhaling it deeply.

Hiccup, for the most part was caught between confusion and total elation in her every nerve when she did this. He couldn't help but smile though.

"What are you going to do when we get there?" Astrid asked him. Hiccup didn't miss the fact that she had asked him what _he_ was going to do as opposed to what _they_ were going to do. Like she was expecting him to be the hero, which was odd because in most situations being the hero was Astrid's territory.

"Find Toothless for one thing." Hiccup answered. "As for after that…I'm still working on it." Astrid let out a small laugh and tightened her grip.

"Well, whatever you do, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Just," Hiccup said after a few minutes of lingering silence between them, "promise me you'll be safe, okay?" he turned his head to face her as best he could without completely letting go of the reins. "I don't want to lose you."

"Shouldn't I be telling you that?" Hiccup just smiled again.

"I don't know, should you?" He teased her.

"Yes," Astrid punched his arm, more playfully than painfully. "I don't want to lose you either, so don't go doing anything stupid…or crazy." She turned her head away from him in a childish manner but when she decided to meet his eyes again, her were shining in a way that Hiccup could only read to understand.

_I'll be lost if I lose you now. And that's what scares me the most. _

He wanted so badly to hug her then, but their position on the Nadder prevented them doing anymore than what they were at that moment. Astrid sensed that and hugged him as tightly as she could from behind, shutting her eyes just as tightly. Hiccup leaned back slightly into her embrace and placed a hand over hers again, wishing they could just turn around and forget everything.

But then he remembered Toothless. Scared, and being treated like a monster in chains. He tried to shake the image out of his head, but it only grew more vivid.

He couldn't turn around, he had lives at stake. The life of his dragon, the life of all of his people, and now that they were flying into certain destruction, the lives of the five other Viking teens that were flying with him to the nest.

One of them being Astrid.

"I can't promise not doing anything stupid or crazy," He told her. "But I can promise you that you won't lose me. I'll make it back."

In the distance Ruffnut moved the Zippleback away from the Nadder and into her own flying space, her head hanging lowly, something that Tuffnut noticed in a heartbeat. He wasn't one for comforting, but his sibling instincts made him forget their constant bickering for just a few moments and laid a hand on his sister's shoulder. He smiled at her and she smiled back before turning her head to the foggy forefront.

"Hiccup," Astrid breathed at his reply, seeming shocked and unable to breath for some reason. "I-" but right before she could finish her sentence the Nadder began to swerve wildly and its head perked in the directions it was turning. The other dragons reacted in a similar manner and by the time they were finished swerving Hiccup recognized the rock formation they were coming up on.

He squeezed Astrid's hands a little tighter before letting go and gripping the reins. He straightened his back and turned towards the other Vikings.

"We're here, guys, look alive." All five of them straightened up and regained their bearings as they took one last turn around the volcano. They saw the Queen Dragon attacking the other Vikings down below them and Astrid reared back for a moment.

"You're not scared, are you?" Hiccup teased. Astrid just smiled devilishly at him and lowered her arms from around his chest, realizing her needed space to steer.

"Of course not."

"Then let's do this."

"You bet."

Hiccup turned towards the other Vikings and made sure they were all flying correctly. He looked down at the Queen Dragon below them, surely it had already killed some of the people down there, but now that he was here, he wasn't going to let anyone else die because of what he had discovered.

After assigning tasks to the other Vikings Hiccup only had one goal at the moment: to find Toothless.

Once he and Astrid had spotted Toothless in the fire ridden ships Hiccup gulped. He wasn't exactly scared that Toothless would be in danger of being burned, since he had a fire proof body. He was more afraid of how he would get to him. Since Hiccup was definitely not fire proof.

But, he had to do something. With those chains, Toothless wasn't able to get away, and even if he was, he's still need Hiccup to fly properly. And with the Dragon Queen stomping all around the area, Toothless _was_ in danger of being crushed.

"Are you sure, you'll be okay flying on your own?" Hiccup asked Astrid as they approached the boat Toothless was being held on.

"I'll be fine, just go!" She yelled making sure he heard her over all the commotion going on behind them. Hiccup nodded seriously and jumped off the Nadder and onto the boat. Astrid held her breath until he was safely down on the boat, relieved that the fire didn't wind his way.

"Go help the others!" He told her and Astrid willfully obeyed, putting on a serious face herself to go into the fray of the battle, but not before turning to get one last look at him, desperately trying to help the night fury out of a burning ship. Risking his own life to save 'the enemy'.

"Go," she whispered before flying towards the others. "Go be the hero."

**And thusly the end of the movie happens and blah blah blah. **

**I actually got the idea of Astrid telling Hiccup to go be the hero off of an interview with America Ferrera. She said her favorite moment for Astrid was when Astrid realized she wasn't going to be hero and encouraged Hiccup to go be the hero instead. I thought that was pretty cool, so I incorporated this whole fic around that one thought. Hope I got the point across. **

**And yes, Ruffnut does like Hiccup, but she also knows that Hiccup likes Astrid so there's really nothing she can do. But, she's prone a little jealousy before she realizes that. **

**Reviews are always welcome. **

**~BlackRose108 **


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